


The way you said I Love You

by hypothetical_otters



Category: Party (BBC Radio), Reluctant Persuaders (BBC Radio), Rigor Mortis (Radio)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Not a Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 17:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6528490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypothetical_otters/pseuds/hypothetical_otters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>there was a tumblr post. I've started writing drabbles and I'll add more later. this isn't a crossover, but i couldn't stick to the one fandom so I'm doing it like this. not in any sort of chronology. the Rigor Mortis ones are (fairly obviously) not canon. nothing belongs to me.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. As a hello

**Author's Note:**

> there was a tumblr post. I've started writing drabbles and I'll add more later. this isn't a crossover, but i couldn't stick to the one fandom so I'm doing it like this. not in any sort of chronology. the Rigor Mortis ones are (fairly obviously) not canon. nothing belongs to me.

Simon’s been waiting on the uncomfortable chair in Gordon’s hospital room since he found where Gordon was in the hospital. He’s been there for days, even at the beginning when Gordon looked more dead than alive, and Simon felt like he was in the morgue despite the yellow painted walls and the open windows being so different from the cold dark metal walls in pathology. The doctors (not Tony, Ruth, or Graeme) don’t seem to mind that he’s there outside visiting hours, or that he’s barely left at all. When Gordon finally wakes up, all Simon can say is hello.


	2. with a hoarse voice, under the blankets

Joe doesn’t often get ill, but when he does he’s pathetic about it. He hides under blankets (more than could ever be comfortable or helpful) and mopes and whines until someone else takes care of him. Then he complains about being unable to do anything fun. Teddy can only hope he’s not this bad when he’s ill, but he’s sure if he asked anyone from university or home they’d say he was as bad, if not worse. All he can think to do is make soup- because that’s what you do when someone’s ill- but he’s never made soup before.


	3. Over a cup of tea

Teddy’s on the phone to his mum. Or his sister. Or it’s a family conference call, and he’s talking to all of his extended family. Joe has no idea, and no way of finding out, because Teddy is speaking in rapid fire French, and Joe only knows colours and stationery because British primary schools are awful. Joe can’t tell if Teddy’s angry, annoyed, or happy, or anything else, because he can’t see Teddy’s face. He can only hear the muffled French through the walls, but he’s pretty certain the conversation isn’t going well. Joe takes teddy a mug of tea.


	4. Over a bottle of beer

After the accident Gordon makes the (in Simon’s mind) incredibly sensible decision to quit drinking. He shakes all the time, and forgets things, and can’t really handle not drinking at all. Simon wishes there was something he could do besides giving Gordon something strong. It’s like Gordon’s permanently in shock, and the best cure of shock (according to Simon’s grandmother) is several glasses of whiskey and possibly a shandy as well. Gordon’s lying on the sofa trying to concentrate on some awful reality show. Simon hands him a bottle of something, and tells him he’s only having one beer tonight.


	5. on a sunny tuesday afternoon, the sunlight glowing in your hair

They’ve both got the afternoon off. Surprising, given that they’re the only people in the creative team. They’re the only people in the company besides Rupert and Amanda. It can’t be sensible to give both of them the day off, but they aren’t complaining. They’re in a park, Joe’s got his guitar and he’s idly strumming chords, changing from G to C to E A and back again. Teddy’s got the last of a bottle of wine in a plastic cup and their watching the sun go down. It’s a perfect afternoon, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.


	6. as a thank you

Joe doesn’t want to leave his house, not really, but he can’t afford it. He’s in his thirties, and has a (somewhat) steady job and he can’t afford to keep his house. He doesn’t want to give up, or prove all those people at school and university right, but he doesn’t have a choice. He moves in with Teddy, to the disapproval of his parents (he’s not sure why he needs their approval) and he’s pathetically grateful to Teddy. He tries to be a good housemate, and keep his stuff to his room, but somehow it sprawls everywhere without trying.


	7. an apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> go listen to Grace Petrie's song of the same name. it's brilliant!! and also listen to Baby blues, and prepare to cry.

Simon’s not happy. It’s bloody obvious even through Gordon’s hangover, and the fact he’s just woken up. He can feel Simon’s anger and distaste and the fact he’s pissed off through the haze. Gordon can’t remember what happened last night, what he did, but he’s sure it’s nothing good. He thinks he might have said something awful, but he’s sure he didn’t mean it and never would. He doesn’t want to ask what happened, because that’ll make things worse (one thing he learned from his exes) so he does what he can. He says he’s sorry, and truly means it.


	8. not said to me

Teddy doesn’t mind so much when Joe goes to the pub on his own, because he knows Joe’s going to come back home, and it’ll all be fine. He goes to the pub as well one night, not with Joe though, on his own because he wants to know what’s so good about this particular pub. Turns out there’s an open mic gig, and Joe can play the guitar. And sing. And enthral teenage girls, who barely look old enough to be in the pub. Teddy definitely isn’t jealous when Joe sings ‘I love you’ to one of the teenagers.


	9. when we lay together on fresh spring grass

They’re supposed to be studying. That was the plan anyway; they even went to the library and checked out text books with good intentions. Then they ended up in the park, and Mel pulled a bottle of wine out of her bag, and all thoughts of studying gone. They lay there for hours, feeling the dew evaporate from the grass around them, and soak into their clothes. It’s a nice day, and no rain in sight. It’s perfect. If Simon thought about it, he could probably write a song about this, or poetry, but he’s not that good with words.


	10. In a letter

Teddy doesn’t often speak French to Joe, he knows Joe doesn’t understand anything he could try to say, but it’s his first language. He’s better at expressing himself in French than he is in English. He doesn’t want to say anything wrong, so he writes everything down. Letters started but not finished, letters finished but never given all bound up and hidden under his bed. He doesn’t need to hide them, they’re written in French. He wishes he could find the words, but he can’t so he pines. Joe hands him a note littered with school-boy French errors. It's brilliant.


	11. a whisper in my ear

They’re in the pub, not Jared’s mums’ summerhouse. It’s a pub Mel and Simon normally go to, and they know the bar staff and the regulars. Mel goes to the bar when they first arrive, then has to double back to ask Jared, Phoebe, and Duncan what they want to drink. While she’s waiting to catch someone’s eye, Simon’s suddenly behind her, and whispering into her ear. They could do anything, be anywhere, and Mel loves it. They’re dancing away from the bar, in a throng of people, and they can’t see the others. Mel never wants this to end.


	12. Loud, so everyone can hear

Simon and Gordon think they’re being covert about everything, but Chloe sees way more than they think she does. She can tell when Simon’s just making up lies so he and Gordon can get a few moments alone, and she can read Gordon’s face when he talks about his partner. They always end up looking at each other regardless of what else is going on in the room. They’ve gone out to the pub a couple of times, and sometimes it’s like she’s not even there. They find each other across rooms, and Chloe’s happy for them. They’re kinda cute.


	13. over and over until it's senseless babble

They’re avoiding a Party meeting, and getting a bit drunk on cheap red wine they went to France last month. Simon’s found his guitar, and Mel’s mumbling verses but shouting choruses of hundreds of half remembered love songs. After a while, the words get more and more slurred, and they don’t mean anything, and the guitar’s been abandoned long ago. They’re too drunk to mean anything they’re saying, or to remember it in the morning, but for now, they’re taking drunk blurry selfies, and trading bad kisses. It’s more fun than anything they could be doing in Jared’s mum’s summerhouse.


	14. when the broken glass litters the floor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> admittedly I mis-read this prompt. apparently it actually says 'surrounded by broken grass' but i can't think of anything to write for that, i barely understand how it makes sense. tw- violence mention. past relationships. bad relationships. ends fine though.

There’s broken glass on the floor. It shattered when someone threw it at the wall. Teddy wants to get out of the house. It’s not his house. Only it was. At one point, he felt welcome here. And now, after this he needs to get out. His vision’s blurring, tears barely held back, he can feel them lodge in his throat, and he leaves. He’s got his phone, and the door slams behind him. Without realising it, he’s walking to Joe’s with his hands already typing Joe’s number and calling him. He listens to Joe talk and feels almost better.


	15. from far away

Simon’s mum wanted him at hers for Christmas, and Mel’s staying at university because she’s not ready to meet Simon’s mum and she hasn’t got the money to go up north for the holidays. So she’s waiting not so patiently for him to get home. Simon calls her on Christmas morning, wakes her up actually, and she finds she doesn’t have the heart to be mad that he’s done that and made her realise her head is thumping and she can barely keep her eyes open cause of the brightness of her bedside lamp. She loves him for phoning her.


End file.
